Asmussen Brings the Momentum Into Iroquois Stakes

As racing returns to Louisville, 2-year-old Thoroughbreds will put their mettle to the test with a Breeders' Cup bid on the line under the lights at Churchill Downs Sept. 18. The $300,000 Pocahontas Stakes (G3) and Iroquois Stakes (G3) highlight a special 11-race card on Churchill's 'Downs After Dark' race night, where the first post takes place at 6:00 p.m.

While many of the precocious juveniles have already banged heads this summer in graded stakes at Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar, the Pocahontas and Iroquois, each run at 1 1/16 miles on the main track, and Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" events, drew fields of several newcomers on the 2-year-old scene looking to taste black-type success for the first time in their fledgling careers.

Trainer Steve Asmussen, coming off a banner summer season at Saratoga that saw him sweep five grade 1 contests, starts impressive Spa debut victor Stellar Tap  and Guntown , a half brother to champion Untapable , in the Iroquois.

Stellar Tap, sporting the colors of L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds, already wrote his name into the annals of racing history when he bestowed Asmussen with his record 9,446th winner with his 5 1/4-length maiden romp Aug. 7. The son of Tapit   returned to the work tab two weeks after his debut and has been breezing consistently up to the Iroquois at Saratoga, clocking five-eighths on the main track in 1:00 2/5 Sept. 5.  Stellar Tap, stretching out to two turns for the first time Saturday, will again be piloted by Ricardo Santana Jr.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Guntown, the second part of the Asmussen entry, will be seeking to become the second graded stakes-winning son of freshman sire Gun Runner   in his barn following Gunite 's sparkling score in the Sept. 6 Hopeful Stakes (G1). A $750,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the regally bred colt ran a troubled third first time out at Ellis Park July 11 in which he was slammed hard at the start before drawing away by 4 1/4 lengths a month later going a mile at the Pea Patch. Tyler Gaffalione has the call on Guntown.

Two runners with prior stakes experience in the field, Roger McQueen  and Lucky Boss , exit a 1-2 finish in the Aug. 15 Runhappy Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes. The Larry Rivelli-trained Roger McQueen, a $530,000 Ocala Breeders' Sales' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training buy from owner Carolyn Wilson, graduated second time out by five lengths prior to his Juvenile score. In that effort, he repelled the late challenge of Lucky Seven Stable's Lucky Boss by a half-length.

A slew of last-out winners line up for graded stakes clout in the 11-horse field, including the American Pharoah   colt Husband Material , winner of an off-the-turf Aug. 23 Delaware Park maiden special weight by a whopping 20 1/2 lengths, Tough to Tame , an Arlington shipper for trainer Chris Davis who's captured his last two starts, as well as Saratoga debut captor Major General  from the Todd Pletcher barn.

Entries: Iroquois S. (G3)

Churchill Downs, Saturday, September 18, 2021, Race 9

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 2 yo
• 10:11 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Tough to Tame (KY)	Sophie Doyle	118	Christopher Davis	20/1
2	2Lucky Boss (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	Kenneth G. McPeek	10/1
3	3Roger McQueen (KY)	Adam Beschizza	120	Larry Rivelli	10/1
4	4Strike Hard (KY)	Leonel Reyes	118	Matthew J. Williams	10/1
5	5Magnolia Midnight (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	Dallas Stewart	12/1
6	6Stellar Tap (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	3/1
7	7Red Knobs (KY)	James Graham	118	Dale L. Romans	20/1
8	8Major General (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Todd A. Pletcher	4/1
9	9Guntown (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Steven M. Asmussen	9/2
10	10Husband Material (KY)	Florent Geroux	118	James J. Toner	15/1
11	11Bourbon Heist (KY)	Joseph Talamo	118	Ian R. Wilkes	9/2

Ontheonesandtwos Seeking to Rebound in Pocahontas

The picture appears a little more muddled for the Pocahontas Stakes for 2-year-old fillies one race earlier on the card. Ontheonesandtwos , from the barn of Norman Casse, is only one of 2 runners in the field of 11 with stakes experience.

Owned by Deuce Greathouse, Cindy M. Hutson, Madaket Stables, and Thomas J. Romano, Ontheonesandtwos annexed her career unveiling May 13 at Churchill Downs before turning in a sharp runner-up effort to Behave Virginia  in the June 26 Debutante Stakes over the Louisville oval. Tackling Saratoga this summer, the daughter of Jimmy Creed   could fair no better than sixth in the Aug. 8 Adirondack Stakes (G2) after bobbling at the break.

“We’re really pleased with the way she came back out of the Adirondack at Saratoga,” said Casse. “I think the track that day was pretty speed favoring and she made her run on the far turn but couldn’t catch the leaders. We got her back to Churchill Downs where we know she loves this track and has some race experience beneath her.”

Onetheonesandtwos tuned up for the Pocahontas with a series of swift breezes over the Saratoga Oklahoma training track, zipping a bullet half mile in :47 1/5 Aug. 29 in her first work after the Adirondack. The chestnut secures the services of Santana for Saturday's race.

Another filly shipping down from Saratoga is Red Oak Stable's homebred Goddess of Fire , a half sister to Stephen Brunetti's grade 1-winning millionaire Mind Control . The bay Mineshaft   filly aced her debut at the Spa Aug. 22 in a game performance for trainer Todd Pletcher going 6 1/2 furlongs. While John Velazquez stays back in New York to ride the Belmont fall meet opening weekend, Javier Castellano takes the reins on Goddess of Fire.

Other notable debut winners undertaking stakes glory in the Pocahontas are the Bret Calhoun trained Hidden Connection , who aired a field of maidens by 7 1/2 lengths in a Aug. 17 contest at Colonial Downs, and the blue-blooded Maxine Machine . The daughter of Pioneerof the Nile and grade 1-winning captress Emma's Encore  graduated Aug. 29 at Ellis Park. 

Entries: Pocahontas S. (G3)

Churchill Downs, Saturday, September 18, 2021, Race 8

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 9:39 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Code for Success (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	118	Victoria H. Oliver	20/1
2	2Goddess of Fire (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
3	3Mama Rina (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	Kenneth G. McPeek	12/1
4	4Ontheonesandtwos (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Norm W. Casse	5/2
5	5Majestic d'Oro (KY)	Martin Garcia	118	Brendan P. Walsh	8/1
6	6Maxine Machine (KY)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	6/1
7	7Kneesnhips (KY)	James Graham	118	Thomas M. Amoss	8/1
8	8Miss Chamita (KY)	Gregory Romero	118	Michel Douaihy	30/1
9	9Hidden Connection (KY)	Reylu Gutierrez	118	W. Bret Calhoun	9/2
10	10Lemieux (FL)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Mark E. Casse	10/1
11	11Joyrunner (MD)	Joseph D. Ramos	118	Laura Wohlers	10/1